sensei8

Congrats holley...keep training!!

Absolutely!!

I speak mainly of the 7 virtues of Bushido. I see a lot of MAists that do not understand and/or believe in the 7 virtues of Bushido, but those who just don't want to. Again, this saddens me.

It is said that the seven pleats in ones hakama (two at the back and 5 at the front) represent the seven virtues of the Bushi namely:- Justice, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Sincerity, Honour and Loyalty. I think I know where you are going with this sensei8. There seems to be less and less of this arround these days. sojobo Yes...it saddens me a lot!!

While winning is fun, it's the learning obtained while competing that's the true fun, imho. Keep training and have a lot of fun!!

Cover EVERYTHING from A to Z each and every time!! No exceptions!! No matter the ranking!! Standards and expectations must be high as well as consistent in both training and tests. I've failed Yondan's before for not showing marked improvement in something as elementary as Pinan Shodan. When it comes to a test: Get it right or get off my floor!! Too strict? NOPE!! Accountability is paramount!!

I've no preference myself. Front leg/back leg: both provide me with what I need per the situation at hand.

I hope that the MMA will steer clear away from that type of ranking because the Dan ranking system would only serve, imho, to only clutter up the works, and in that, weight titles suffice across the board.

Imho, the politics within the martial arts has destroyed the meaning of Bushido across the board. What was once valued, is so easily traded for selfishness. Politics within the martial arts taints the opportunities for any valued betterment. Your thoughts? **I wasn't sure if I should put this topic in General Martial Arts or Internal Arts and Philosophy or Martial Arts and Politics, therefore I placed it here: General Martial Arts. Hopefully it'll suffice!**

Welcome back!!

Best drill....SPAR...spar until the wheels fall off and then some. Nothing is better than sparring, and with different partners. And...get with your sensei asap and ask him/her those same questions? Good luck!

The prayers of my family and I are with the victims as well as their families today!! Here's a link to learn more (sorry it's in Japanese)... http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.quake/index.html [You might find better reports, if so, please post them so that we can have a more accurate report/understanding.]

Rest is the optimal word, and in that, rest means....don't rush it.

As always, I'm on the side of the fence that's dead-set against contracts because they're so binding, one will have to pay it until the end, providing one will opt out correctly. If not, then the contract auto renews. If ones finances can't pay for said contract, then one would have to pay it, no matter what. I would just like to caution you before you sign any contract. Try to get a copy of the contract and have an attorney give you the pros and cons of it before it becomes a binding nightmare that you can't walk away from. Yes, you can just walk away from any said contract, but that causes another problem; ruining ones credit. Good luck!!

I concur...he's got good techniques...imagine how great he'll be when he's an adult. Did you notice at 0:52, his haircut is catching on with some very interesting variations.

It's right above your Avatar...it's that pretty rainbow thingymajig!!

Would any of you say that American Football [NFL] is difficult for someone to grasp because... A) Unfamiliarity B) Uninterested/ing C) Unclear

Self-defense was my primary reason for starting to learn the martial arts when I was a child. But, over the years, self-defense wasn't the primary reason for continuing in the martial arts. Nonetheless, self-defense is part of the martial arts, and whether while some of the SD techniques taught are a bit far fetched, imho, a lot of the SD techniques are solid across the board. As an instructor of the martial arts, I've also moved away from some of those SD techniques taught to me by our Soke and our Dai-Soke because I didn't believe that all of those SD techniques were effective FOR EVERYONE, for one reason or another. I still teach an abridged SD curriculum because I still see the viability as well as the purpose/reason of presenting SD to our students, and in that, if when the moment presents itself, and ONE of my students can only remember ONE SD technique that saved them from an attacker; then teaching SD has been all worth it, no matter the opinions of others as well as myself.

To each and everyone of you that have tried to help me with my very mean and deliberate computer...I say this out loudly.... THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!! I always thought that the computer backed up whatever ALL BY ITSELF, dumb of me in the first place considering I'm dumber than a stick when it comes to computers...DOH!! Btw, I'm taking my computer to my computer girl ASAP...like right now!!

That's a great idea; I thank you for that. I've WAY to many important documents and the like on my computer. Good thing, all of my martial art platitudes are in a safe deposit box...whew!!

Oh, those are good links too...Patrick, thanks for adding those for Jay. This is what I'd call...teamwork!!

Well....I feel intimidated....help me!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!

A very solid post!! I find myself defending my Soke for a decision that he, and he alone made when he awarded the Menkyo Kaiden to our Dai-Soke; and I feel like I shouldn't have to...but I do for some reason or another anyway.

Well, it's four anyway - within the same ryu-ha. Point is, the Menkyo system is NOT traditionally Okinawan - as much as people want it to be - it isn't. Sojobo Yeah, you got me there, I only listed 4 from the same ryuha, but I can list many more. I surrender to the fact that the Menkyo system is NOT traditionally Okinawan. Japanese don't own the Menkyo system - as much as people want it to be - they don't. Okinawans use the Menkyo system - as much as people don't want them to - but they still use it.